Well, its been around 3 month or so since i started fleshes training. Just want to give a post of improvement for anybody who gives a shit. I will not mention any ''normal'' climbing done, only that of weighted type or campusing as suggested.

For the first month or so i only campused once per week to allow my self time to adapt to the demands.

I started to feel slight pain of 3 finger campusing so before adding weight i thought it wise to go into taps instead of doubles untill they adapt. Starting on the first rail with both hands, reach up the the 3rd rail with 1 hand, then drop it back down to the first rail. 4 reps of that (2 per hand) 8 sets. I alternated this between weighted climbing every other day.

The weighted improvement is quite obvious, how this will relate to climbing i can not pin point as of yet. I have finally completed a 8a route that had me for a while, along with a 7c. I hope that is due to the above training, as it was FUCKING HARD WORK.

I did notice i took a endurance hit as to be expected, but.. on the other hand i also noticed i can climb hard moves over and over again now, with a little rest ofc.

I am going to drop the weighted bouldering as it felt like it was damaging my movement. In its place i will train endurance instead. Hopefully a good mix of endurance and raw strength training for the next few month will show more obvious results. Or should i say more rounded results.

Well, its been around 3 month or so since i started fleshes training. Just want to give a post of improvement for anybody who gives a shit. I will not mention any ''normal'' climbing done, only that of weighted type or campusing as suggested.

For the first month or so i only campused once per week to allow my self time to adapt to the demands.

I started to feel slight pain of 3 finger campusing so before adding weight i thought it wise to go into taps instead of doubles untill they adapt. Starting on the first rail with both hands, reach up the the 3rd rail with 1 hand, then drop it back down to the first rail. 4 reps of that (2 per hand) 8 sets. I alternated this between weighted climbing every other day.

The weighted improvement is quite obvious, how this will relate to climbing i can not pin point as of yet. I have finally completed a 8a route that had me for a while, along with a 7c. I hope that is due to the above training, as it was FUCKING HARD WORK.

I did notice i took a endurance hit as to be expected, but.. on the other hand i also noticed i can climb hard moves over and over again now, with a little rest ofc.

I am going to drop the weighted bouldering as it felt like it was damaging my movement. In its place i will train endurance instead. Hopefully a good mix of endurance and raw strength training for the next few month will show more obvious results. Or should i say more rounded results.

When you have power, endurance comes easily, when you have/train only endurance, power comes slowly. It will pay off.

I'm a bit confused about the three finger open, not all rails are the same size of course, and the degree that the campus board overhangs changes things a bit as well. That being said, I basically use the smallest rung I can that allows all four fingers to stay on. Maybe your pinky isn't that long relative to your other fingers to allow this?

If possible, I would suggest finding/buying a rung that allows you to keep four fingers on, open of course. It will be a bit easier but it's safer to disburse the weight between 8 fingers rather than 6. Also, if you find you can do more than 8 reps at this size for at least 7 sets, then add weight, I've gone as high as adding 30lbs on a larger rung before moving to a smaller one.

Currently, the rung I use is just big enough to keep four fingers open on and i do 8 reps with 10lbs on me. sometimes I do 10 reps with no weight.

If it hurts, definately stop doing it. Come back after a few weeks. It shouldn't hurt but I'm guessing it's because the three finger vs four for you.

It does sound like over the three month's, the amount of weight/reps you could do continued to go up, this is a measurable difference, so you know your getting stronger. It doesn't always translate into new climbing grades right away, grades come in waves, you may be stuck at a certain grade for months then blow through 1 2 or 3 grades in a month. It helps when you can measure progress, u know your getting stronger whereas without this you may feel like your not improving even when you are.

Keep doing it at least twice a month even throuhgout your endurance cycle.

Also, when doing weighted bouldering, I find it works best do only climb totally open handed, even on crimp holds and the steeper the better, you'll train body tension like you wouldn't believe and next thing you know, moves that your feet use to pop on they will be sticking.

People have a hard time only climbing open handed in the gym because naturally it's easier to hold a crimp and sometimes a slope in the crimp position, fforce yourself to do it anyway, in time, you will be so strong open, you won't mind anymore.

I only crimp hard maybe once a month, other then that I only open hand and I can still crimp pretty hard.

When you are climbing at your level, many times you get to where you feel run down or you fingers hurt especially when your crimping. If you climb open, your hands will hurt less and as a result you'll be able to climb more often and the cumalative effect over time of climbing more and climbing more at a higher level will pay huge dividends.

Hope this helps.

PS, try climbing on the longest steepest wall at your gym with a weight vest for endurance training, 1 or 2 grades below your bouldering limit, you'll be after a few weeks. Only open of course.

When you have power, endurance comes easily, when you have/train only endurance, power comes slowly. It will pay off.

I'm a bit confused about the three finger open, not all rails are the same size of course, and the degree that the campus board overhangs changes things a bit as well. That being said, I basically use the smallest rung I can that allows all four fingers to stay on. Maybe your pinky isn't that long relative to your other fingers to allow this?

If possible, I would suggest finding/buying a rung that allows you to keep four fingers on, open of course. It will be a bit easier but it's safer to disburse the weight between 8 fingers rather than 6. Also, if you find you can do more than 8 reps at this size for at least 7 sets, then add weight, I've gone as high as adding 30lbs on a larger rung before moving to a smaller one.

Currently, the rung I use is just big enough to keep four fingers open on and i do 8 reps with 10lbs on me. sometimes I do 10 reps with no weight.

If it hurts, definately stop doing it. Come back after a few weeks. It shouldn't hurt but I'm guessing it's because the three finger vs four for you.

It does sound like over the three month's, the amount of weight/reps you could do continued to go up, this is a measurable difference, so you know your getting stronger. It doesn't always translate into new climbing grades right away, grades come in waves, you may be stuck at a certain grade for months then blow through 1 2 or 3 grades in a month. It helps when you can measure progress, u know your getting stronger whereas without this you may feel like your not improving even when you are.

Keep doing it at least twice a month even throuhgout your endurance cycle.

Also, when doing weighted bouldering, I find it works best do only climb totally open handed, even on crimp holds and the steeper the better, you'll train body tension like you wouldn't believe and next thing you know, moves that your feet use to pop on they will be sticking.

People have a hard time only climbing open handed in the gym because naturally it's easier to hold a crimp and sometimes a slope in the crimp position, fforce yourself to do it anyway, in time, you will be so strong open, you won't mind anymore.

I only crimp hard maybe once a month, other then that I only open hand and I can still crimp pretty hard.

When you are climbing at your level, many times you get to where you feel run down or you fingers hurt especially when your crimping. If you climb open, your hands will hurt less and as a result you'll be able to climb more often and the cumalative effect over time of climbing more and climbing more at a higher level will pay huge dividends.

Hope this helps.

PS, try climbing on the longest steepest wall at your gym with a weight vest for endurance training, 1 or 2 grades below your bouldering limit, you'll be after a few weeks. Only open of course.

It is not possible for me to use my baby finger on such a rung. The only way i can get it on their is by half crimping. My ring finger is bigger than my index (ring finger almost same size as middle). I guess that has some baring on it.

I was also rather confused to figure out that my 3 finger open hand dead hang times completely obliterate my 4 finger half crimp dead hang times by quite a big margin. I got a feeling the 1 finger traversing (yes bad advice) has the credit for that. I also tried a few sets with half crimp vs fully open, and fully open was just so much easier even if it was a pinky short. It must have something to do with the way it aligns my arms up, i just get more power in that position. I do not like the idea of leaving out my baby finger, that's partly the reason i added dead hangs after the campusing and do the sets in half crimp to make sure my pinky gets some action. Do you think that is a good call?.

I do not want to stop using the campus board, i was hoping it is a sustainable tool to use every few days (no more than twise a week?).

Atm i do not have a real weight vest, just a ruck sack. The weights move around too much and messes with my cog while climbing, its not a problem on the campus tough. Until i can afford a vest i don't think i will continue with weight for bouldering. As an alternative maybe i can try using 2 fingers per hand in your endurance suggestion? middle/index as 1 set and middle ring finger as another?. Leaves the pinky out again ;/ but i can cover that in the campus sessions?.

I was having finger pain doing a lot less, (56 years old, Dr says Arthritis) changed the diet to a Zone friendly one and they feel better. Need to start working the hangboard since they are doing better.

When you have power, endurance comes easily, when you have/train only endurance, power comes slowly. It will pay off.

I'm a bit confused about the three finger open, not all rails are the same size of course, and the degree that the campus board overhangs changes things a bit as well. That being said, I basically use the smallest rung I can that allows all four fingers to stay on. Maybe your pinky isn't that long relative to your other fingers to allow this?

If possible, I would suggest finding/buying a rung that allows you to keep four fingers on, open of course. It will be a bit easier but it's safer to disburse the weight between 8 fingers rather than 6. Also, if you find you can do more than 8 reps at this size for at least 7 sets, then add weight, I've gone as high as adding 30lbs on a larger rung before moving to a smaller one.

Currently, the rung I use is just big enough to keep four fingers open on and i do 8 reps with 10lbs on me. sometimes I do 10 reps with no weight.

If it hurts, definately stop doing it. Come back after a few weeks. It shouldn't hurt but I'm guessing it's because the three finger vs four for you.

It does sound like over the three month's, the amount of weight/reps you could do continued to go up, this is a measurable difference, so you know your getting stronger. It doesn't always translate into new climbing grades right away, grades come in waves, you may be stuck at a certain grade for months then blow through 1 2 or 3 grades in a month. It helps when you can measure progress, u know your getting stronger whereas without this you may feel like your not improving even when you are.

Keep doing it at least twice a month even throuhgout your endurance cycle.

Also, when doing weighted bouldering, I find it works best do only climb totally open handed, even on crimp holds and the steeper the better, you'll train body tension like you wouldn't believe and next thing you know, moves that your feet use to pop on they will be sticking.

People have a hard time only climbing open handed in the gym because naturally it's easier to hold a crimp and sometimes a slope in the crimp position, fforce yourself to do it anyway, in time, you will be so strong open, you won't mind anymore.

I only crimp hard maybe once a month, other then that I only open hand and I can still crimp pretty hard.

When you are climbing at your level, many times you get to where you feel run down or you fingers hurt especially when your crimping. If you climb open, your hands will hurt less and as a result you'll be able to climb more often and the cumalative effect over time of climbing more and climbing more at a higher level will pay huge dividends.

Hope this helps.

PS, try climbing on the longest steepest wall at your gym with a weight vest for endurance training, 1 or 2 grades below your bouldering limit, you'll be after a few weeks. Only open of course.

It is not possible for me to use my baby finger on such a rung. The only way i can get it on their is by half crimping. My ring finger is bigger than my index (ring finger almost same size as middle). I guess that has some baring on it.

----three finger is ok, just make sure to watch for pain, also, I woudn't ever campus more than 1/week, simply because of the repetitive movement and letting it heal, plus 1/week is plenty for pure power training. Even 2/month is good.

I was also rather confused to figure out that my 3 finger open hand dead hang times completely obliterate my 4 finger half crimp dead hang times by quite a big margin. I got a feeling the 1 finger traversing (yes bad advice) has the credit for that. I also tried a few sets with half crimp vs fully open, and fully open was just so much easier even if it was a pinky short. It must have something to do with the way it aligns my arms up, i just get more power in that position. I do not like the idea of leaving out my baby finger, that's partly the reason i added dead hangs after the campusing and do the sets in half crimp to make sure my pinky gets some action. Do you think that is a good call?.

-----I don't recommend ever power triaining crimps, as you get stronger open you will get stronger in crimps too. You can gain crimp strength quickly by power training it buy it's not worth the risk IMO.

I do not want to stop using the campus board, i was hoping it is a sustainable tool to use every few days (no more than twise a week?).

Atm i do not have a real weight vest, just a ruck sack. The weights move around too much and messes with my cog while climbing, its not a problem on the campus tough. Until i can afford a vest i don't think i will continue with weight for bouldering. As an alternative maybe i can try using 2 fingers per hand in your endurance suggestion? middle/index as 1 set and middle ring finger as another?. Leaves the pinky out again ;/ but i can cover that in the campus sessions?.

I don't recommend training 2 fingers ever. Unless you are climbing 14c and training for action directe, it's not worth the risk.

It may still be possible if you test some different rung sizes to find one you can be open in with four fingers, even if it's quite big that's ok, just add more weight. I prefer weighted four fingers over not weighting three if possible. yOu'll have to play around with this. Not all rungs are the same. Maybe one that's the same size but more incut for example would allow you to keep the pinky on. This is more about spreading the weight between more fingers rather than what gets you strongest fastest.

The rung I use, with four fingers open, if you could do it with 30 lbs you would have the power to boulder v13 i'd guess.

When you have power, endurance comes easily, when you have/train only endurance, power comes slowly. It will pay off.

I'm a bit confused about the three finger open, not all rails are the same size of course, and the degree that the campus board overhangs changes things a bit as well. That being said, I basically use the smallest rung I can that allows all four fingers to stay on. Maybe your pinky isn't that long relative to your other fingers to allow this?

If possible, I would suggest finding/buying a rung that allows you to keep four fingers on, open of course. It will be a bit easier but it's safer to disburse the weight between 8 fingers rather than 6. Also, if you find you can do more than 8 reps at this size for at least 7 sets, then add weight, I've gone as high as adding 30lbs on a larger rung before moving to a smaller one.

Currently, the rung I use is just big enough to keep four fingers open on and i do 8 reps with 10lbs on me. sometimes I do 10 reps with no weight.

If it hurts, definately stop doing it. Come back after a few weeks. It shouldn't hurt but I'm guessing it's because the three finger vs four for you.

It does sound like over the three month's, the amount of weight/reps you could do continued to go up, this is a measurable difference, so you know your getting stronger. It doesn't always translate into new climbing grades right away, grades come in waves, you may be stuck at a certain grade for months then blow through 1 2 or 3 grades in a month. It helps when you can measure progress, u know your getting stronger whereas without this you may feel like your not improving even when you are.

Keep doing it at least twice a month even throuhgout your endurance cycle.

Also, when doing weighted bouldering, I find it works best do only climb totally open handed, even on crimp holds and the steeper the better, you'll train body tension like you wouldn't believe and next thing you know, moves that your feet use to pop on they will be sticking.

People have a hard time only climbing open handed in the gym because naturally it's easier to hold a crimp and sometimes a slope in the crimp position, fforce yourself to do it anyway, in time, you will be so strong open, you won't mind anymore.

I only crimp hard maybe once a month, other then that I only open hand and I can still crimp pretty hard.

When you are climbing at your level, many times you get to where you feel run down or you fingers hurt especially when your crimping. If you climb open, your hands will hurt less and as a result you'll be able to climb more often and the cumalative effect over time of climbing more and climbing more at a higher level will pay huge dividends.

Hope this helps.

PS, try climbing on the longest steepest wall at your gym with a weight vest for endurance training, 1 or 2 grades below your bouldering limit, you'll be after a few weeks. Only open of course.

It is not possible for me to use my baby finger on such a rung. The only way i can get it on their is by half crimping. My ring finger is bigger than my index (ring finger almost same size as middle). I guess that has some baring on it.

----three finger is ok, just make sure to watch for pain, also, I woudn't ever campus more than 1/week, simply because of the repetitive movement and letting it heal, plus 1/week is plenty for pure power training. Even 2/month is good.

I was also rather confused to figure out that my 3 finger open hand dead hang times completely obliterate my 4 finger half crimp dead hang times by quite a big margin. I got a feeling the 1 finger traversing (yes bad advice) has the credit for that. I also tried a few sets with half crimp vs fully open, and fully open was just so much easier even if it was a pinky short. It must have something to do with the way it aligns my arms up, i just get more power in that position. I do not like the idea of leaving out my baby finger, that's partly the reason i added dead hangs after the campusing and do the sets in half crimp to make sure my pinky gets some action. Do you think that is a good call?.

-----I don't recommend ever power triaining crimps, as you get stronger open you will get stronger in crimps too. You can gain crimp strength quickly by power training it buy it's not worth the risk IMO.

I do not want to stop using the campus board, i was hoping it is a sustainable tool to use every few days (no more than twise a week?).

Atm i do not have a real weight vest, just a ruck sack. The weights move around too much and messes with my cog while climbing, its not a problem on the campus tough. Until i can afford a vest i don't think i will continue with weight for bouldering. As an alternative maybe i can try using 2 fingers per hand in your endurance suggestion? middle/index as 1 set and middle ring finger as another?. Leaves the pinky out again ;/ but i can cover that in the campus sessions?.

I don't recommend training 2 fingers ever. Unless you are climbing 14c and training for action directe, it's not worth the risk.

It may still be possible if you test some different rung sizes to find one you can be open in with four fingers, even if it's quite big that's ok, just add more weight. I prefer weighted four fingers over not weighting three if possible. yOu'll have to play around with this. Not all rungs are the same. Maybe one that's the same size but more incut for example would allow you to keep the pinky on. This is more about spreading the weight between more fingers rather than what gets you strongest fastest.

The rung I use, with four fingers open, if you could do it with 30 lbs you would have the power to boulder v13 i'd guess.

I see, i will use bigger rungs once i feel ready for weighted doubles. Probably guna increase the reps on weighted taps for now to 3 each hand and stay at 20lb. Should take another few sessions to build up to that.

I don't get any problems with elbows now, i think that was mostly down to climbing far too many hours per session. Some push ups helped as well. Also may be of some interest to people, i was climbing allot (6-7 day a week). My knees, especially right one was getting some issues as a result. I still have a little pain in the knee if i try any difficult heel/toe hooks, but the break their getting from campusing and reduced days climbing has defo helped it ease off allot. Also been doing some basic strengthening and taking glucosomaine, or what ever their called.

When doing pure power training like campusing or projecting boulders at your limit, I don't recommend climbing more than every other day unless you are in elite shape like 5.14+ or v12 plus climber.

You'll get stronger faster and avoid injury by climbing every other day (ish)

What are your thoughts on very light endurance climbing on rest days? (i just get bored ;p). I read that if it is very easy it can actually help recovery time. This was in the scenario of resting from climbing though, not campusing. I assume the difference would effect the above?.

When doing pure power training like campusing or projecting boulders at your limit, I don't recommend climbing more than every other day unless you are in elite shape like 5.14+ or v12 plus climber.

You'll get stronger faster and avoid injury by climbing every other day (ish)

What are your thoughts on very light endurance climbing on rest days? (i just get bored ;p). I read that if it is very easy it can actually help recovery time. This was in the scenario of resting from climbing though, not campusing. I assume the difference would effect the above?.

Recovery of what? Of the muscles, maybe, I don't know, I'm sure you could find info pro and con. Of the conective tissue? I think not, It's safe to say that the less you climb, the better off your connective tissue will be.

When training power, it only makes sense that you would be at your most powerful when doing it. This requires your body building up it's energy reserves and healing the damaged muscle. When power traiing you need more rest.

After years of climbing and talking with other climbers I'm of the firm belief that for non mutants (99% of climbers) that what holds one back from improving is not whether or not it's possible to get stronger (it always is), but that injuries prevent them from moving forward.

In other words, if you could do whatever you want without getting injured, I guarantee I could get you piss strong with what I know, very quickly.

Because of this, I suggest one views his climbing goals in the long term, what's going to be get me the stongest/best in the next ten years? Not the short term.

Count on getting stonger, even when you losing faith, but do what it takes, even doing what may seem like unncessary measures, not to get injured.

If you want something to do when your not climbing, do cardio and cut weight or work the opposing muscle groups without adding much mass. Watch climbing videos, plan future trips, etc. Maybe focus on making more money so that you can go on some nice trips in the future which will keep the psyche up and allow you to stay motivated and progress.

When doing pure power training like campusing or projecting boulders at your limit, I don't recommend climbing more than every other day unless you are in elite shape like 5.14+ or v12 plus climber.

You'll get stronger faster and avoid injury by climbing every other day (ish)

What are your thoughts on very light endurance climbing on rest days? (i just get bored ;p). I read that if it is very easy it can actually help recovery time. This was in the scenario of resting from climbing though, not campusing. I assume the difference would effect the above?.

Recovery of what? Of the muscles, maybe, I don't know, I'm sure you could find info pro and con. Of the conective tissue? I think not, It's safe to say that the less you climb, the better off your connective tissue will be.

When training power, it only makes sense that you would be at your most powerful when doing it. This requires your body building up it's energy reserves and healing the damaged muscle. When power traiing you need more rest.

After years of climbing and talking with other climbers I'm of the firm belief that for non mutants (99% of climbers) that what holds one back from improving is not whether or not it's possible to get stronger (it always is), but that injuries prevent them from moving forward.

In other words, if you could do whatever you want without getting injured, I guarantee I could get you piss strong with what I know, very quickly.

Because of this, I suggest one views his climbing goals in the long term, what's going to be get me the stongest/best in the next ten years? Not the short term.

Count on getting stonger, even when you losing faith, but do what it takes, even doing what may seem like unncessary measures, not to get injured.

If you want something to do when your not climbing, do cardio and cut weight or work the opposing muscle groups without adding much mass. Watch climbing videos, plan future trips, etc. Maybe focus on making more money so that you can go on some nice trips in the future which will keep the psyche up and allow you to stay motivated and progress.

find an edge that you can barely hold with one hand in the crimp position and hang off it with all your might as long as you can.... shoot for 3-15 seconds, don't thumb over, just crimp. Do this once a week and you'll be crimping two grades harder outside wihtin a few months, also, you'll probably get injured.

Put both hands on the smallest edge you can in the open position and use only your fingers to move into a crimp position... then back to open then back to crimp... etc. .... this hurts even worse, have fun, do till failure then rest 10 minutes and do it again.

This is what people do who are mutants or not mutants but havent learned yet that this will get them injured.... I potentially have experience with this.

find an edge that you can barely hold with one hand in the crimp position and hang off it with all your might as long as you can.... shoot for 3-15 seconds, don't thumb over, just crimp. Do this once a week and you'll be crimping two grades harder outside wihtin a few months, also, you'll probably get injured.

Put both hands on the smallest edge you can in the open position and use only your fingers to move into a crimp position... then back to open then back to crimp... etc. .... this hurts even worse, have fun, do till failure then rest 10 minutes and do it again.

This is what people do who are mutants or not mutants but havent learned yet that this will get them injured.... I potentially have experience with this.

Bad long term game plan.

Currently with 20lb on my back each arm is taking 84 lb. To go into 1 arm none weighted dead hangs, each arm will be taking 147 lb, but i need to increase the rung size from 3/4 inch to just under 2 inch (i done 1 arm hangs in the past).

Imo it felt like the rung was just too big to give greater finger gains over what i am doing now on smaller rungs with weight. The massive extra weight on a single shoulder/elbow joint was very noticeable and not something i could see them being able to sustain with ought injury.

Perhaps what your suggesting is only for those who have reached the point where they have added so much weight the next logical step is 1 arm hangs. I don't think i'm near ready to sustain that intensity just yet. Perhaps when i get to the point of 30lb doubles on 3/4 inch i could start thinking about it.. but that's a long way off yet , that is.. in hope that my fingers can even handle that.

I take it 1 arm crimping is what you use to do?, was it really that massive in gains?.

find an edge that you can barely hold with one hand in the crimp position and hang off it with all your might as long as you can.... shoot for 3-15 seconds, don't thumb over, just crimp. Do this once a week and you'll be crimping two grades harder outside wihtin a few months, also, you'll probably get injured.

Put both hands on the smallest edge you can in the open position and use only your fingers to move into a crimp position... then back to open then back to crimp... etc. .... this hurts even worse, have fun, do till failure then rest 10 minutes and do it again.

This is what people do who are mutants or not mutants but havent learned yet that this will get them injured.... I potentially have experience with this.

Bad long term game plan.

Currently with 20lb on my back each arm is taking 84 lb. To go into 1 arm none weighted dead hangs, each arm will be taking 147 lb, but i need to increase the rung size from 3/4 inch to just under 2 inch (i done 1 arm hangs in the past).

Imo it felt like the rung was just too big to give greater finger gains over what i am doing now on smaller rungs with weight. The massive extra weight on a single shoulder/elbow joint was very noticeable and not something i could see them being able to sustain with ought injury.

Perhaps what your suggesting is only for those who have reached the point where they have added so much weight the next logical step is 1 arm hangs. I don't think i'm near ready to sustain that intensity just yet. Perhaps when i get to the point of 30lb doubles on 3/4 inch i could start thinking about it.. but that's a long way off yet , that is.. in hope that my fingers can even handle that.

I take it 1 arm crimping is what you use to do?, was it really that massive in gains?.

Yep one hand crimping ftw, if you want to make gains quickly, however, i can't imagine anything that would be more likely to cause injury. I went up two boulder grades in a few months with this...... shortly after had to take a couple years off because of a horrid finger injury. Don't do it. The mutants can handle it, it seems, they are lucky.